Squarepoint Ops LLC Invests $820,000 in American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 10,547 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $820,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in American States Water during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 92.5% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 439 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of American States Water by 367.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 500 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its position in shares of American States Water by 2,173.9% in the 4th quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 523 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of American States Water by 198.9% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 541 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $74,613.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,931 shares in the company, valued at $1,226,687. This trade represents a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American States Water Stock Performance

AWR stock traded down $0.23 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $78.42. The company had a trading volume of 143,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 216,463. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.98. The company has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.82. American States Water has a twelve month low of $69.46 and a twelve month high of $87.50.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70. American States Water had a net margin of 20.03% and a return on equity of 13.63%. The business had revenue of $148.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $142.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.62 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American States Water will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $0.4655 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. American States Water's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AWR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of American States Water from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised American States Water from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Bank of America lowered American States Water from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $85.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd.

About American States Water

American States Water Company, through its subsidiaries, provides water and electric services to residential, commercial, industrial, and other customers in the United States. It operates through three segments: Water, Electric, and Contracted Services. The company purchases, produces, distributes, and sells water, as well as distributes electricity.